Eating for a Better Life

Thursday, February 16, 2012

I didn't blog yesterday due to a very busy evening with meetings for work and Malea's parent teacher conference. But if I had, it would have been all about fear and trepidation for today...Juice Day #1. Rightfully so. This day has SUCKED.

I woke up fairly optimistic after a good night's rest and a very sweet note of encouragement from Jason. Now, nearly 12 hours later, I am teetering on the edge of madness. Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic. Let's just say I'm a wee bit testy. Not eating for an entire day is something I have never tried to do. Sure, I've juiced four times today and they were all delicious, but I have not put anything solid in my belly. And I am perhaps in the first stage of mourning my loss of food - anger (isn't that the first stage?).

I have taken the next five days off from work. This is perhaps one of the wisest decisions I've made in a while, and I've spared the lives of my coworkers. Not so lucky is my family or anyone else who might happen to cross my path. I apologize in advance.

Jason came home all "What can I do to support you?" My response: Leave me alone.

It's bad.

I don't even want to be that witty right now, so that's how we'll end it for today. And here's a stupid picture of the stupid juice. Carrot kale combo.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Today started off fairly well. It was a little hectic getting going since Jason and I decided to enjoy sleep rather than early preparedness. The result was teamwork, with me cutting up fruit and veg for the juice and him sticking everything in the juicer and cleaning up afterward. My hands looked like I strangled a skinless animal from all the beet juice. Gross.

At work, I shared the bounty of beet juice with my fellow staff members, who were surprised that it actually tasted decent. I know. I was the same way. I had taken one whiff of that Sunset Blend the first time we made it and gagged. But, after sipping on it apprehensively, I and my coworkers both had the same reaction...Mmmm, tasty juice!

Then I came home zapped of energy this afternoon, only to have to face Fareway to pick up necessities for the Valentine's Day menu I have planned. Fareway is a shit-storm in the evening. I was strolling through the dressing aisle and ran into a woman in a tube top and Green Bay Packers jacket yelling at her boyfriend/husband/baby daddy that he needed to come home from his "whore's house" and take care of his kids. That wasn't even the worst of it. My craving for carbs this evening has turned me into this:

Yes, that is a pouting baby. A pouting baby who stupidly pushed her cart through the bread and chip aisle of Fareway and could not bring herself to leave. Smelling the bread made me feel better.

I'm not even really that hungry. I don't feel crappy, just a little tired, but man my mood is foul. I'm hoping for the sake of my family and my coworkers that sleep and a smoothie laden with fruit and honey will make the bad mood go away.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

I lost 5 pounds. No kidding. Now, I'm sure most of that is water weight. Actually, I know most of that is water weight because 1) I think it's physically impossible to lose 5 pounds of fat in one day, and 2) I peed all night on the hour every hour. I should not have any liquids, especially with lemon, after 6 pm. But still, 5 FREAKING POUNDS!!!

I felt great today - so much energy and no fogginess or bloating. Last night I even managed to whoop everyone in the family on Just Dance 3 on the Wii. I forgot to post the menu I had yesterday, but will start doing that for the remainder of the fast. Here's today's deliciousness:

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Today is Day 1 - hooray! After an anxious night and weird dreams about my son getting kidnapped and me going all Jason Bourne on the dude that tried to take him, I began my day with a bit of trepidation. It got much better when Jason (my darling husband, not Jason Bourne) announced that as part of my Valentine's Day present, he will be my personal chef for these next 15 days. I almost melted, then had to clean the floor to wipe up the sticky juice he spilled. Jason does not necessarily believe in my kitchen motto of "A good chef is a clean chef". But his heart is certainly in the right place.

So the morning went fairly well, starting the day off with a bowl of yummy fruit salad and Minty Fresh Berry juice.

Then, we went grocery shopping. Jason has asked our 7-year-old daughter, Malea, to keep a running list of our "essentials" and price check each store. Seriously, she has a little notebook where she's tracked our produce and notes off to the side of how much each costs at every store we've purchased the item from in the past week. So grocery shopping took a bit longer. And I didn't bring a snack. And we were at Costco, where evil store people were handing out chicken wings and pieces of gourmet chocolate all willy nilly like they had no idea someone was fasting nearby. The nerve, right? The kids were hungry so I bought them a hot dog to share, and I probably could have given my right hand to shove that hot dog in my gullet. I was not in a good mood. I could feel myself staring bullets at the cashier lady at Wal-Mart when she commented on my beets, "Oh you eat so healthy! Not a bit of candy or anything in your cart!"

Jason must have gotten my not-so-subtle clues as I snapped at him when I couldn't deal with the carseat seatbelt. He calmly told me he could handle it and said he would fix me lunch as soon as we got home. And he sure did - kale chips and a cabbage slaw salad with the most delicious homemade ginger garlic soy dressing. Hmmm, hungry Rhea is an angry Rhea. Better check that quick.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

So here I am again, fallen off the wagon and getting ready to jump back on. Last you heard from me I was still living in vegetarian land, happy and un-puffy. But, that story ended around last October, when fried chicken and pizza got the better of me and I ended up reverting to the diet that originally prompted me to make a change in the first place. I know there are no jeers or loud exclamations of "Loser!" pointed my way, but there's been plenty enough of that in my own head that I've been pushing back for the past couple of months.

I watched the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" when I was in the throes of vegan delight. It's a great documentary, but honestly I didn't give it much thought because:

It's extreme.

Who really just juices for 60 days?

It's extreme. Seriously, dude lost nearly 90 pounds in 60 days.

Then, after New Year's Day 2012, I surprised the dear hubby with a Jack LaLane juicer after the delightful concoctions made out of fresh oranges and carrots we imbibed during our vacation in California. Jason is about as clean an eater as you can get, but he's still crazy enough to want to try the juice fast. So I though, what the hell?

To be honest with you, lately I've been feeling like shit. Stressed out, lazy, and staring at my fat clothes trying to decide if I have the will to live (okay that's a bit dramatic). Fried chicken and pizza may seem like a great idea when it's staring you in the face, but when that stuff goes down your gullet and magically pads your ass, let's be honest and say there's a lot of regret. And is that how I want to live my life...full of guilt and regret (and a big ass)? Hell no.

So I'm gonna try the juice fast and clean eating again. I hate feeling bloated and having bad skin at age 33. It's still an experiment, but maybe this time around I'll actually find a way to make it stick. Wish me luck!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

This must be an off-week. At least that's what I keep telling myself. I've succumbed to pizza and Doritos over the weekend, and lots of rum. I blame it on our friends coming up to visit and their bad influences. Or I could just man-up and say I'm having an off-week.

Work has been busy and stressful, and there's been plenty of fall-turning-into-winter illnesses in the family over the past couple of days. Not to mention all the Halloween candy lying around taunting me (and this is even with us limiting trick or treating for only one hour). I've depended on go-to meals like Tuscan Vegetable Soup and my new favorite, Soy Chorizo and Potato Tacos, especially when I get home grumpy and tired.

Then, a question at work completely set me off today. WTF am I going to do for the holidays? I'm pretty sure I can't live without turkey. Someone is going to be turning into a gremlin again.